Bottom Line:
The cerebellar cortex comprises a stereotyped array of transverse zones and parasagittal stripes, built around multiple Purkinje cell subtypes, which is highly conserved across birds and mammals.This architecture is revealed in the restricted expression patterns of numerous molecules, in the terminal fields of the afferent projections, in the distribution of interneurons, and in the functional organization.This review provides an overview of cerebellar architecture with an emphasis on attempts to relate molecular architecture to the expression of long-term depression (LTD) at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell (pf-PC) synapse.

Affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Calgary Calgary, AB, Canada ; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary Calgary, AB, Canada ; Genes and Development Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary Calgary, AB, Canada.

ABSTRACTThe cerebellar cortex comprises a stereotyped array of transverse zones and parasagittal stripes, built around multiple Purkinje cell subtypes, which is highly conserved across birds and mammals. This architecture is revealed in the restricted expression patterns of numerous molecules, in the terminal fields of the afferent projections, in the distribution of interneurons, and in the functional organization. This review provides an overview of cerebellar architecture with an emphasis on attempts to relate molecular architecture to the expression of long-term depression (LTD) at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell (pf-PC) synapse.

Figure 1: Stripes in the adult mouse cerebellar cortex as revealed by various Purkinje cell subset markers. (A) On the right is a whole mount dorsal view of a hemicerebellum immunoperoxidase stained for zebrin II/aldolase C. On the left is a cartoon view: lobules are numbered with Roman numerals (V–IX); zebrin II+ stripes as 1–7 (Adapted from Furutama et al., 2010). (B) A transverse section through the posterior lobe immunoperoxidase stained by using anti-zebrin II (Adapted from Marzban et al., 2004). (C) A transverse section through the anterior lobe immunoperoxidase stained for phospholipase Cβ3 (PLCβ3) (Adapted from Sarna et al., 2006). (D) A transverse section taken close to that in panel C, immunoperoxidase stained for PLCβ4 (Adapted from Sarna et al., 2006). (E) Transverse section through the posterior lobe double immunofluorescence labeled for GABA type B receptors 2 (GABABR2) (red) and PLCβ4 (green) (Adapted from Chung et al., 2008). (F) A whole mount dorsal view of a hemicerebellum from an IP3R1nls-lacZ transgenic mouse X-gal stained for transgene expression (Adapted from Furutama et al., 2010).

Mentions:
Several recent reviews have described the architecture of the adult cerebellar cortex (e.g., Apps and Garwicz, 2005; Apps and Hawkes, 2009; Ruigrok, 2011). In brief, a range of expression markers expressed in subsets of Purkinje cells have revealed an orthogonal matrix of transverse zones and parasagittal stripes (Figure 1). First, the cerebellar cortex is divided by transverse boundaries into transverse zones. These are most easily recognized in the vermis but appear to have their counterparts in the hemispheres as well. Each transverse zone is further subdivided into long narrow stripes that run parasagittally from rostral to caudal. The most-studied example is the expression pattern of zebrin II/aldolase C, which identifies a stereotyped array of zebrin II+ and zebrin II- stripes (e.g., Brochu et al., 1990; Hawkes and Gravel, 1991; Ahn et al., 1994; Hawkes and Herrup, 1995; Figures 1A, B). The combination of multiple such patterns adds up to a cerebellar cortex with several hundred distinct topographical units (e.g., Hawkes, 1997; Hawkes et al., 1997, 1999; Armstrong et al., 2000).

Figure 1: Stripes in the adult mouse cerebellar cortex as revealed by various Purkinje cell subset markers. (A) On the right is a whole mount dorsal view of a hemicerebellum immunoperoxidase stained for zebrin II/aldolase C. On the left is a cartoon view: lobules are numbered with Roman numerals (V–IX); zebrin II+ stripes as 1–7 (Adapted from Furutama et al., 2010). (B) A transverse section through the posterior lobe immunoperoxidase stained by using anti-zebrin II (Adapted from Marzban et al., 2004). (C) A transverse section through the anterior lobe immunoperoxidase stained for phospholipase Cβ3 (PLCβ3) (Adapted from Sarna et al., 2006). (D) A transverse section taken close to that in panel C, immunoperoxidase stained for PLCβ4 (Adapted from Sarna et al., 2006). (E) Transverse section through the posterior lobe double immunofluorescence labeled for GABA type B receptors 2 (GABABR2) (red) and PLCβ4 (green) (Adapted from Chung et al., 2008). (F) A whole mount dorsal view of a hemicerebellum from an IP3R1nls-lacZ transgenic mouse X-gal stained for transgene expression (Adapted from Furutama et al., 2010).

Mentions:
Several recent reviews have described the architecture of the adult cerebellar cortex (e.g., Apps and Garwicz, 2005; Apps and Hawkes, 2009; Ruigrok, 2011). In brief, a range of expression markers expressed in subsets of Purkinje cells have revealed an orthogonal matrix of transverse zones and parasagittal stripes (Figure 1). First, the cerebellar cortex is divided by transverse boundaries into transverse zones. These are most easily recognized in the vermis but appear to have their counterparts in the hemispheres as well. Each transverse zone is further subdivided into long narrow stripes that run parasagittally from rostral to caudal. The most-studied example is the expression pattern of zebrin II/aldolase C, which identifies a stereotyped array of zebrin II+ and zebrin II- stripes (e.g., Brochu et al., 1990; Hawkes and Gravel, 1991; Ahn et al., 1994; Hawkes and Herrup, 1995; Figures 1A, B). The combination of multiple such patterns adds up to a cerebellar cortex with several hundred distinct topographical units (e.g., Hawkes, 1997; Hawkes et al., 1997, 1999; Armstrong et al., 2000).

Bottom Line:
The cerebellar cortex comprises a stereotyped array of transverse zones and parasagittal stripes, built around multiple Purkinje cell subtypes, which is highly conserved across birds and mammals.This architecture is revealed in the restricted expression patterns of numerous molecules, in the terminal fields of the afferent projections, in the distribution of interneurons, and in the functional organization.This review provides an overview of cerebellar architecture with an emphasis on attempts to relate molecular architecture to the expression of long-term depression (LTD) at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell (pf-PC) synapse.

Affiliation:
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Calgary Calgary, AB, Canada ; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary Calgary, AB, Canada ; Genes and Development Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary Calgary, AB, Canada.

ABSTRACTThe cerebellar cortex comprises a stereotyped array of transverse zones and parasagittal stripes, built around multiple Purkinje cell subtypes, which is highly conserved across birds and mammals. This architecture is revealed in the restricted expression patterns of numerous molecules, in the terminal fields of the afferent projections, in the distribution of interneurons, and in the functional organization. This review provides an overview of cerebellar architecture with an emphasis on attempts to relate molecular architecture to the expression of long-term depression (LTD) at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell (pf-PC) synapse.